Concentration
by tangeton
Summary: The name of the game is intuition, and they're both in it to win it.


**A/N:** Originally written 8/5/15, posted to AO3 10/26/16. i had actually only wanted to write the concentration game scene, haha.

* * *

"What are you guys doing?"

Yuugi and the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle looked up from the floor in sync, and to an observer they might have looked like a mirror-mime act. However, only one teenager was visible to any normal spectator and he was the one Anzu saw.

"Oh, hi Anzu! Did Mom let you up?" Yuugi greeted from his position on the floor. He lay on his stomach near his colorful bookcase, feet suspended in the air. His other self had returned his attentions to the floor again, letting out a single grunt before narrowing violet eyes for the nth time since they'd begun their game. "My other self says hi too."

Anzu blinked, a faint blush lighting up her features. "Um, hi to you too." Her eyes flitted around the room as if there might be some visual indication of where the spirit was. Yuugi helpfully pointed at the base of his bed where his other self sat, legs crossed, the very picture of perfect concentration. Anzu seemed to gather herself again and threw a questioning gaze at Yuugi. "Should I even ask what is going on here?"

Indeed, it was a mess. White socks were haphazardly strewn all over the floor in no discernible pattern. There was no square inch of the floor that wasn't covered with a sock, and that included his desk, although those were the multicolored socks they couldn't use for this game. Thankfully, he had a large abundance of white socks for their use, thanks to his relatives, who seemed to think he was still a kid and still liked to get clothes every holiday. _Every_ holiday. Which usually left him with more socks (and more relatives) than he knew what to do with.

"We're playing sock concentration," he said, as if the name explained itself. "Or well, my other self is playing it. It's a game I made up to train my intuition for games! I've drawn a heart on two pairs of socks and I've hidden them somewhere among all my other socks. It's been a half-an-hour already and he hasn't made a guess yet." Another grunt from the spirit. Yuugi laughed as he gestured for Anzu to sit down on the bed. "This is actually a little funny, because the last time I played this game you were here too."

Anzu looked at him curiously. "I was here?" She couldn't remember a time when she'd seen this game played by Yuugi or his other self.

Yuugi fingered the edge of a sock lying close to him, causing his other self's eyes to settle briefly on his hand. His violet gaze trailed its way up to Yuugi's face, then quickly diverted its course back to the game. "Well, you came to walk with me to school. You gave me one of those love-matching keychains and my other self played a game with the school counselor."

Her cheeks tinted a light pink. "Ah, that was so long ago, I almost forgot."

"Don't worry about it," Yuugi said, rolling onto his side to look at Anzu. "If you think about it, finding that keychain was also kind of an intuition game." Yuugi stretched his legs out a little and yawned. "Sorry, Anzu. Was there something you needed?"

Anzu snapped her fingers, remembering her purpose. "Right, Jounouchi heard about a new burger place that opened today. We thought you might want to try it out. I live closer to you so I offered to pick you up." She smiled fondly as Yuugi's mouth hung open; needing to manually close it before he accidentally drooled on the floor.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Yuugi exclaimed, sitting abruptly upright. "But would you mind waiting a little…"

His eyes detected a movement in his periphery. At last the Spirit of the Puzzle had finally made a decision.

"There and there," his other self said finally, pointing at one sock near the window and another closer to the exit of the door. Yuugi stood up to flip them over, amazed.

"Wow, other me! That's the fifth time you've pulled it off today!"

* * *

Yuugi sat in the café with literal stars in his eyes.

"This burger is amazing!" His friends laughed as he patted the burger lovingly, encased in all its crinkly fast food paper-like glory. "I can't _believe_ I didn't hear about this place before you, Jounouchi!"

Jounouchi scratched his cheek faux-nonchalantly, grinning into his drink. "Well, it's not Burger World good though, isn't it?" Anzu and Honda nodded in agreement, tucking into their own burgers. "But I figured we'd be remiss if we didn't check this place out together, eh?"

"No way," Yuugi said in-between bites. "Well, I mean, maybe I think Burger World's burgers are better in taste, but everyone should have a taste of a burger at least once in their lifetime." It occurred to Yuugi then that his other self had never tasted a burger. His other self had only taken up the task of eating for the both of them whenever Yuugi was too tired to do anything, but even then that had been restricted to his mom's Japanese-style home cooked food. "Hold on a sec, guys." And then he promptly shoved control into his other self's capable hands.

"What," his other self said flatly, frankly surprised to find a squishy package of bread in his hands. Their friends looked at him curiously, at this point keenly familiar with the switch in character that defined and separated the two Yuugis. It was instinctual, at this point, to know which Yuugi was which.

"Go on, other me," Yuugi said, hovering behind him in the transparent spirit form he was so familiar with. "I realized that you've never tried a burger before! That is a crime that must be rectified!" Yami no Yuugi stared at the half-eaten burger with bewilderment. Pinned by Yuugi's heartbreakingly hopeful stare, he found himself taking a bite.

"Holy _shit,_ " the spirit swore, and unable to help himself, ravenously devoured the rest of the burger as their group of friends applauded. Pure and unfiltered happiness trickled down their shared link, leaving Yami no Yuugi feeling unquestionably pleased as well.

"Ah, Yuugi swore!" Jounouchi hollered, dropping his burger on his tray. Honda slapped the blond upside the head, causing the other to flinch comically. "That's the other Yuugi, dumbass!"

Having finished the burger, Yami no Yuugi looked miserably at the empty wrapper, like if he stared at it hard enough it might spawn a replacement.

"I'm glad you liked it," Yuugi cheered beside him, dropping a spectral hand on his shoulder. "Would you like another one?"

* * *

"It makes sense that since you guys share the same body, the other Yuugi would have the same tastes as you do," Anzu said, and Yuugi nodded, stomach feeling more bloated than it had in a long time. They were walking to the Domino Arcade, a weekend tradition that they all took part in whenever they weren't off saving the world.

 _Sorry, aibou,_ his other self communicated across their bond, apologetic. He kept pace with his partner, floating alongside the teen. _I didn't expect burgers to be so addictive._

 _I don't think anybody who hasn't had one does,_ Yuugi chuckled. _It's no problem, really. Nobody's intuition could warn them against the delicious power of burgers!_

 _Yes,_ his other self said enigmatically, dropping his gaze to the ground. _My loss._

Yuugi gave his other self a searching glance before noticing the lull in bickering between Jounouchi and Honda. They were exchanging furtive looks at each other and at Anzu, slowing down until they lagged behind Yuugi. Yuugi could tell that the three were in on some plot together, but it wasn't like that was unusual in his group of friends. Anzu sped up her pace to pull up to Yuugi's side.

"I was wondering if you had some free time, Yuugi," Anzu said, her voice strong with conviction even as she wrung her hands together. "If you had some time to go to the park after this, maybe, and talk?"

Yuugi looked at Anzu, then at the Spirit of the Puzzle, who seemed unusually interested in the conversation.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Anzu," Yuugi apologized, decision made, looking back at his other half. "I just realized I'm on shift at the shop right now! Maybe after school, tomorrow?"

Anzu's smile wavered only briefly, before returning a little brighter. "Yes, that would be great."

* * *

"She was going to confess to you," said Yami no Yuugi once they were back in the safety of the Game Shop. It was late evening by the time they returned, and only the faint sound of Grandpa's snoring emanated from the upstairs living quarters.

"Yeah," was the only thing Yuugi said as he turned around to re-lock the doors. Yami no Yuugi swiveled his head around in search of the switch. Finding it, he used a small amount of shadow magic to affect it, flipping it on. Yuugi gave him a grateful smile, making his dead, non-physical heart swell with positive emotion. He hated it.

"You return her feelings." He said it like it was a law, a raw statement of fact. It was the only way to keep the vulnerable note out of his voice. Soft footfalls padded up the stairs on the well-trodden route to Yuugi's room. He followed after the other teen, spectral feet never touching the stairs.

He watched as Yuugi closed the door behind them, shedding his coat and hanging it up behind the door. "What makes you think that?" An honest question.

"Call it intuition," he said, looking down at his feet—actually, through his feet, through to the carpet. "More than that, it is fairly obvious to see by anyone who pays attention. And I know you." Did he? Possible explanations whirled through his head and hope flared up in his chest, a traitorous emotion.

Yuugi stepped closer to the spirit. "I may have, once. But what about now?"

"My intuition is not infallible," Yami no Yuugi breathed, placing a nervous but tender hand on Yuugi's cheek, the touch feather-soft, a move unlike his usual personality. "What does your intuition tell you?"

Yuugi smiled, closed his eyes, and leaned in.


End file.
